Offroad-Express

Hi all
well i finally sold the disco so I've got some cash burning a hole in my pocket - the main thing i want to do is get rid of the LD28 front the 90 - so the question is what to put in it's place.
Current g'box is an LT77 (also have a 4spd RR box in the shed)
Options seem to be RR 3.5 V8 carbs, RR/Disco 3.9 V8 Efi, Holden 3.8 V6, or possibly a Lexus V8.
Anyone got any opinions on what would be best??
Cost is a factor - I've got a RR 3.5 V8 of dubious origen (supposedly rebuilt but never run) in the shed, any ideas on how much for any of the others?
Got to admit that Im probably most tempted by a Rover 3.9 Efi with an auto box.
Also what will it take to stick a set of 35's on it ?
Furgus

Interesting following this thread on the LR email list.

I have only a 3.5 v8 carbed going in the hybrid for which I'm going to put elec ignition in. For the rear axle I have a defender 96 rear axle which has 24 spline shafts and 4 wheel discs (broken so many 12 splines its not funny!). If I had the money I would go for the 3.9efi v8 and auto but I will stick with the 4speed and 3.5 as its going to get thrashed and will probably upgrade later on

Mike

You can get a wrecked disco very cheap these days (<$4grand)- 3.9v8, auto, lt230 transfer case and a rear axle with discs. May be cheaper than you imagine.

Yeah a wrecked disco was something I was thinking about - all depends if I can get a good one for a decent price (I think i've got scottish blood in me - short arms & deep pockets )

Yeah all the scottys got long thin cocks.Tight fisted wankers.

:puker: :pukel:

OK so following on from yesterdays post about the death of the LD28 abit of progress was made today.

The 3.5 V8 RR motor was packed of to my mates yesterday afternoon & today we had a little look at it - not too bad from first glances

Took the inlet manifold & cover, & rocker covers off & had a look at the cam - looks a new one

Unfortunately whilst putting the rocker covers back on I dropped a screw driver bit down into the motor

So that meant the sump had to come off - whilst this was off we had a look at the bearings - all good

One interesting thing was that in the sump was a homemade oil cooler - lots of copper pipe which would obviously be attached to water that has just been thru the rad - anyone seen anything like this before?



Decided not to use this & put a different sump back on (Neil happened to have one in his shed)

We then started putting everthing back together. Neil - "Nah leave the Stromberg manifolds off .......... I've got a set of SU's here"

Next it was time to start putting back the bits that were missing. First off was the dissy
Again Neil says "Oh I've got one on the shelf we'll use that" Unfortunately this didn't fit - so a closer look was had.
"Bugger" he says - the front end is from a Buick
"Bugger" I say "so we're stuffed then 'cos I bet you ain't got one he those"
He smiles "I'll just have a look over here.........Ah yes here we go"
This guy is awesome

A bit of mixing & matching between the 2 dissies and one good one (that fitted) emerged

Next up the front crank pulley was a bit knackered and it didn't have a pulley for the power steering pump, Oh well lets have a look on the shelf ...... nope nothing
Neil gets on the phone "Bruce you havn't got a pulley & bolt do you? ................ you do? cool ............... you'll be 20 mins! way cool"

Bruce arrives with said pulley - not quite right but spilt the 2 & put one back together -
Bingo

Next a liberal spray with degreaser and 30mins with the water blaster & it's looking almost like new

That was about it today so this week I have a shopping list - new leads, plugs, coil, points and it's time to fire it up & see how we go.

YOU NOW HAVE ,,T MINUS 5 DAYS 6 HOURS TO HAVE THE TRANSPLANT COMPLETE.......


YOU CAN DOOOO EEEET ! !

I definately have a time target - bubs is due on Sept 13th so having it all by then is the target. Biggest PITA will be the certification etc.

Hey furgus what size SU's did you put on and what are they worth? I've been offered a set of 1 3/4 SU's reconditioned for $150. What is difference between the strombergs and SU's performance wise? Should I stay or should I SU?

Mike

I'm not sure what size thet are as they came off Neils shelf (freebie....zip....zero....nada )! I'll find out this weekend for you.

I beleive that the main advantage of SU over Stromberg is that the SU setup is less prone to fuel starvation probs at extreme angles - it's what Neils comp truck runs and we've had no real probs even on the ridiculous angles that the trials put you at!!!

This weeks update on the 90

Late start today - nice lie in after staying up late watching the Ashes - go the poms

Managed to get the 90 going this morning by copying Neils effort last week - hill starting down the drive with loads of ether sprayed in the air intake

Took it out to Neils place and started the strip down - gotta love the "Monster Garage" style tear out Well we were actually a little gentler than that - seeing as we need to reuse some of the stuff

The decision has been made to replace the gearbox as well as the motor as according to everyone I've spoken to the LT77 just isn't up to the power of the V8 So unbolted everthing, disconnected as the pipes & wires, removed the front panel & radiator.



Next off were the gearbox crossmember speedo cable & gearsticks. Undo the engine & gearbox mounts & whip off the driveshafts - wack a chain on the motor and out they come.



So now we have a big hole in the 90 and it needs pushing about

So now the big decision - do we stick the RR 4spd in or try & track down a LT85.

Oh and I scored a rear ARB locker during the week - $750 sweeeeet

Ok so a slight delay since the last post - due to the early arrival of a baby son :sunny: :flower: :sunny: . Never one to let that get in the way of progress for too long this weekend we were back at it.

And some good progress has been made. The decision was made to stick with the LT95 (4 spd RR box) as we know it can take the knocks, and LT85's are like rocking horse poo. The 'box was taken from my shed to Neils and mated up to the motor with a brand new clutch in place. The old engine mount were cut off & new ones (nicked off a Rangy chassis I have lying around) were welded on & primed.



The motor & box were then dropped in and bolted up & big grins all round . Well it wasn't quite that easy obviously - the box fouled on the seat box & tranmission tunnel so they all had to be taken out & will need modification. Of course that's always easier said than done with 20yrs of grime & rust around all the poxy little screws & bolts that hold this all together (will be replaced with stainless).





Slight stuff up at this point - one of us managed to drop a spring into the gearbox - big oops - but never mind a few minute with a magnet on a piece of wire & we were good to go again

The power steering box had just started to leak before we started all this (just a mention at the last WoF check) so I decided to replace it with another that was in my shed



Only problem here was tha the bolts thru the chassis were a different size - but luckily I'd kept the ones on the new box when it was removed from the rangy 2 yrs ago

Drive shafts are bolted back on - lengths look to be all Ok (although the rear may need a longer one). Now time to look at the interior - Seatbox & transmission tunnel have been trimmed & all now fit - just need to fill the holes



We looked at mounting the power steering pump & fabbed up a new bracket for it - lined up perfectly with the pulley - fluke or what.

Finally we put the front back together and mounted up the new radiator only to find that the inlet & outlet pipes are now in the wrong corners - bugger. Oh well leave that 'til next weekend.

cheers all Furgus

Congrats on the bubby

Looks good...

Some significant progress was made this weekend

Saturday was spent tidying up lots of bits of wiring, fitting new fuel pump (pacet high flow electric), new fuel lines, and fiting the nice shiney new 120amp alternator - that should keep the winch cranking



Sunday we continued fettling with bits including replacing the now apparantly illegal stainless brake hoses with new neopene style ones - nice bright orange - must get a pic of them.

Last weekend we had tried mounting the power steering pump on the motor but failed for the lack of a 120mm 3/8UNC bolt - this found we mounted up the pump and luckily the pulley is dead in line

So now we needed to find a place to mount the power steering fluid resevoir - their is plently of room in the engine bay but no flat surfaces - a special bracket was needed never mind - that means a trip into Neils workplace (where they build trailer units) 4 pieces of steel cut & welded up & a work of art is created - best of all a perfect place to mount the coil is made at the same time.



So we now have all the ingredients in place to see if the thing will fire up Well we threw a new set of points in and a new set of ignition leads (which need replacing - they're all about a foot too long ) and gave it a go - cough splutter .............. nothing ........ tried some ether.......... cough splutter........... nothing. So it's at least turning over but just not firing . So we did the only thing one can at this point - sat back had a beer and talked bullshit for half an hour & tried again ........... cough splutter .......... houston we have lift-off - my god what a beautiful sound - a Rover V8 with manifolds but no pipes ummmmmmmmmmm

So I'm a happy bunny agian now - still lots of jobs to do

Plumb in the radiator
Fabricate new transmission tunnel & floor panels
Fit new comfy seats
Swap rear axel for a Rangy one with disc brakes
Fit diff lock to said axle - when it arrives
Fit new bullbar & winch
Get the whole thing certed

That's all for now folks

Nice progress indeed!!! don't forget to get rid of those points and put in a descent electronic ignition in the dizzy. Will give you better fuel economy and less headaches with water....well so Ive been told. I hate points full stop!!!

Mike

u shold mount the coil up/down
or they can burn the arse out of them

Could you explain how that works - never knew that electricity was heavy Surely it's like saying a light bulb won't last as long if horizontal

the coils have oil in them to keep them cool, but they arnt filled to the max
so on side the coils inside arnt completely inclosed with oil

late model T coils dont matter

and furgus you are correct about a light bulb too

Oil inside a sealed unit won't keep it very cool - it needs to circulate to do that - it would help dissipate the heat alittle - anyways mines in a truck which shakes & rattles enough to slosh the oil all over the place Just a note of interest I recall the coil in my old Spitfire 1500 was also horizontally mounted

yip and they burn out too
i had one in my l200 too and it burnt out after bout 200,000ks

The heat is dissapated by convection currents created in the oil, much like an oil heater

Shit - it'll only last 200,000km well we can't have that - imagine the cost!!!!

things like that always crap out when u are out in middle of no where and with no spare

So do all sorts of other "disposable" parts - you carry whatever spares you think you may need - and maybe I'll chuck an old coil in now just to be sure. So how long are the leads supposed to last...and the dissy cap....and the uj's.....and the cv's....and the.........

gezz man just trying to be helpful
god you dont have to a smart arse about it

FUBAR wrote:gezz man just trying to be helpful
god you dont have to a smart arse about it

Boys, boys, its not worth it!!!!!
You both make very good points!!!!

OK - so at last it's time for an update - I know it's beena long time but I stopped posting for a while after the negative comments - but I'm over all that now
So the last post was just after we got the motor running

So I'm a happy bunny agian now - still lots of jobs to do

1. Plumb in the radiator
2. Fabricate new transmission tunnel & floor panels
3. Fit new comfy seats
4. Swap rear axel for a Rangy one with disc brakes
5. Fit diff lock to said axle - when it arrives
6. Fit new bullbar & winch
7. Get the whole thing certed

Well at least some of those jobs are now ticked off - yes I know some of you could have got it all done in a week - but I'm learning as I go plus with the kid & competing & .. & .. & OK enough of the excuses.

1. The radiator hose postions were wrong so we had that changed & plumbed it all in easy-peasy. To keep it cool I made up an aluminium shroud & fitted a pair of electric fans.






This slots nicley into place & should do the job.

2. After a bit of thought (& a couple of beers) it was decided that rather than spend ages fabricating a new interior it'd be easier to get the bits out a S3 Stage 1 V8 - so a trip to Marcel at Mamaku 4wd yeilded a transmission tunnel, seat box & handbrake assembly. We made up a bracket to attach the tunnel to the firewall & also some nice shiney checkerplate floor-boards.



3. The quest for comfy seats is always on the minds of Land Rover owners I had already purchased a pair of decent seats from a Jappa for $30 so I decided to use them rather than fork out on a set of proper race seats (cheapskate). Fitting them was never going to be easy but a plan was worked out. The thin aluninium of the seat box is not strong - so just bolting them in place was not gonna happen. I covered the top of the seat box with 4mm aluminium sheet - in order to easily attach the seats I made up some steel plates with nuts welded in place which go under the ali plate - the seats are bolted thru the ali plate and seat box into the steel - this spreads the pressure nicley. (difficult to explain & I forgot to get pics). All the bits have been painted black & look good.



4. The rear axel swap was done this weekend - diffrations are the same so no changes there (3.5's) but a new shock mount needs welding on one side & new brake lines need to be made up to reach the calipers.



5. Diff locker - ummmm well look like I F#$%@*d over royally on that score - paid the money & nothing ever arrived - If anyone knows BARRY WILLIAMS from the Wellington region let me know :-@ :thumbdown: ~:-(

Other bits & pieces have obviously been done - now have oil pressure & temp gauges & a new water temp gauge.
Have also made up a switch box with switches for the winch on/off & in/out, spotties, & one to turn the fans off (with warning light which comes on when they're off) Locker switches will also go here.





Well that's all for now folks - will try & keep you more up to date again.

Furgus wrote:paid the money & nothing ever arrived - If anyone knows BARRY MAXWELL

& one to turn the fans off (with warning light which comes on when they're off)

Was that a dud TM deal? I hope someone finds him Whats his nondeplume?

Have you got your rad fans on a thermostatic switch then the "off" switch as an overide? Why I ask that is cause if you rely on switching the fans on and off yourself, there will allways be the time when ya get distracted and forget to turn them on.

Looks as tho it's going to be a nice trick 90

Was that a dud TM deal? I hope someone finds him Whats his nondeplume?

Yes it was - thry've kicked him off but won't give me details to catch the bugger - they will only supply personal info to the courts - so it looks like that's what I'll have to do - just the time involved pisses me off

Have you got your rad fans on a thermostatic switch then the "off" switch as an overide? Why I ask that is cause if you rely on switching the fans on and off yourself, there will allways be the time when ya get distracted and forget to turn them on.

Yes thet're on a thermo switch as well - the over-ride switch is really just for deep water crossings - hopefully the light will remind me to turn them back on afterwards